California is banning single-use plastic grocery bags again after a previous ban allowed thicker plastic bags, leading to increased plastic waste in landfills.Bill Chappell reports for NPR.In short:California's 2014 ban allowed stores to sell thicker plastic bags,

In California, shoppers will no longer be offered plastic bags at the grocery store checkout. Under a new law, effective January 1, 2026, single-use shopping bags are banned from any point of sale. This includes bags made from plastic,

After decades of promoting plastics recycling, California adopted a total plastic shopping bag ban and filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, claiming plastic recycling is a “public relations stunt.” With the state’s outbreak of fecal-transmitted hepatitis among homeless individuals correlated with the onset of the state’s first